Disney Dreamlight Valley
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 2023 life simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft Montreal and published by Gameloft. The game has players tend to a magical valley populated by various Disney and Pixar characters who previously underwent a curse that caused them to lose their memories of their lives in the valley.
The game was released in early access for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 6, 2022, while the macOS version released in early access on December 6, 2022, alongside the game's second content update. It was initially planned to be a free-to-play game, with the purchase of a "Founder's Pack" or an active Xbox Game Pass subscription needed to play the game in early access. However, its early access success led to Gameloft cancelling the free-to-play plans in October 2023, making the game a premium title permanently. The game was fully released on December 5, 2023, alongside its first paid expansion, A Rift in Time. An Arcade Edition for Apple Arcade, supporting iOS, macOS and tvOS was also released the same day. The game is set to release in Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.
Gameplay
Disney Dreamlight Valley takes place in the titular "Dreamlight Valley", a magical valley with various biomes populated by Disney and Pixar characters. The game features nonlinear gameplay similar to Nintendo's Animal Crossing games where players take control of a customizable human player character living in the valley. The valley is synced to real time based on the time set on the player's console or computer. The game's multiplayer mode involves visiting other players' Valleys.The player can explore the valley to gather resources and use their magic to clear away "Night Thorns", unwanted plants with dark magic that spawn throughout the valley. Foods can be cooked into various meals at a cooking station such as an oven or a campfire, while other resources can be crafted into materials or furniture at a crafting station. The player can eat food to replenish energy, which is required to use magic-imbued tools including a pickaxe, a shovel, a fishing rod, and a watering can; meals can replenish greater amounts of energy than foods grown, harvested, or purchased in the valley, and can make the player "well fed", which gives them a movement speed boost, increased luck at getting resource bonuses, and the ability to sprint across the valley faster by gliding on magic. Furniture and certain objects can be placed and rearranged in the valley or inside the player's house, and the player can also move and rotate buildings in the valley to their liking. The player can also change their outfit and appearance at any time, clothing can be customized further by the player with a clothes and furniture designer option called "Touch of Magic". Unlike in the Animal Crossing games, the player's tools, clothing, and furniture do not take up space in their inventory; tools are selected using an option wheel and never break from use, while the inventory screen contains separate "wardrobe" and "furniture" options for clothing and furniture respectively.
The player can earn a currency called "Star Coins" during gameplay, usually by selling most items in their inventory to Goofy at various stalls run by him throughout the valley. Star Coins can be spent on crops and seeds sold by Goofy at his stalls, materials sold by Kristoff at his stall, certain foods that are only available at Remy's restaurant Chez Remy or from Gaston's stall, or on clothes and furniture sold by Scrooge McDuck at his store. They can also be spent on new buildings or building upgrades that provide additional benefits, such as more items available at Goofy's stalls or more space in the player's house, or on wells strewn throughout the valley that allows the player to fast travel to different biomes.
The player can interact with and befriend the villagers, including heroes and villains. The player can build up a "friendship level" with that villager by having a daily discussion with them, giving them gifts, completing quests they assign the player, and hanging out with them and doing activities, including gardening, mining, digging, harvesting, and fishing; doing specific activities with a land-based villager, depending on the role the player assigns the villager at friendship level two, will earn the player more resources related to that activity. Raising a friendship level with a villager will give the player rewards including Star Coins, exclusive furniture and clothes, and exclusive motifs for "Touch of Magic", as well as increased resources from hanging out with them and new quests.
Plot
Main story
The game follows the player as they decide to spend some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city and return to their old rural home, falling asleep in their old backyard play area and entering a dream world as their memories of childhood return. Upon appearing in the titular Dreamlight Valley, the player is met by Merlin, who explains that Dreamlight Valley used to be full of villagers living in harmony, but after the valley's ruler disappeared, Night Thorns began growing and causing the villagers to lose their memories in an event known as "The Forgetting". While many villagers fled to their home realms for protection, others stayed and became trapped as Dreamlight Valley was overrun by Night Thorns and fell into disrepair. The player decides to help restore Dreamlight Valley and get rid of the Night Thorns.With Merlin's help, the player is able to use their own magic, known as "Dreamlight", to clear away the Giant Night Thorns blocking access to the house resembling their own from back in reality. Recovering a memory hidden in the Night Thorns inside, the player and Merlin decide to investigate the Dream Castle, only to find the entrance blocked by giant Night Thorns. After meeting some of the villagers who stayed behind and recovering the Royal Tools, the eternal night spell over the valley is broken and the player clears away the giant Night Thorns, regaining access to the Dream Castle. Inside, they find doorways to various realms where the other villagers had fled when The Forgetting came, all sealed by Night Thorns. The player collects more Dreamlight and unlocks the doors, visiting the realms and helping the characters there with their problems, bringing them back to Dreamlight Valley to help restore it. Along the way, they help restore Dreamlight's local businesses and provide housing for the characters returning to Dreamlight Valley.
The player also opens up other regions of the valley blocked by giant Night Thorns, restoring them by returning the magic Orbs that protect the valley to their respective Pillars. As they restore Dreamlight Valley and help more villagers, the player gradually learns that they were the former ruler of Dreamlight Valley, having stopped visiting as they grew up and thus causing the Valley to fall into disrepair. The villagers also explain that the Forgetting and the appearance of the Night Thorns was caused by a dark being called the Forgotten.
As the player is about to restore the final Pillar, the Forgotten appears and steals the Orb, revealing themselves to be the player character's inner child, who was corrupted by negative emotions and fell into a deep depression. The Forgotten intends to use the Orb in a spell to create a rift that could destroy the valley. The player follows the Forgotten to their dark castle and talks to them, reminding them of their past memories and helping them accept themselves. The Forgotten shows remorse and works with the player to close the rift, and they are forgiven by the villagers and reintegrate into Dreamlight Valley with the player's help.
A Rift In Time
Jafar contacts the player, asking for their help to fix the damage he wrought on Eternity Isle, as his actions have severely damaged the space-time continuum there and he needs their help to undo it as he's trapped there until it is fixed. Merlin helps find the access route in the Dream Castle, which leads to the Stardust Port, where many docks are found that lead to other locations throughout Dreamlight Valley, and the player sets off for Eternity Isle. Once on Eternity Isle, the player gets to work under Jafar's direction to reopen the Ancient Gate that leads to more of Eternity Isle. The player also helps Goofy, Remy, and Scrooge reopen their Eternity Isle businesses that had been abandoned when The Forgetting happened. Mickey also reintroduces the player to Scramblecoin so they can play it with all the villagers.Upon reaching the main area of the isle, Jafar reveals that the area is split in two by a rift in time that needs to be fixed before it destroys everything, and he is confined to the palace at the other end. Jafar directs them to recover the Royal Hourglass, a new Royal Tool that will help mend all the damage on Eternity Isle, and anything that appears back in Dreamlight Valley. However, EVE is in possession of the Royal Hourglass and the player must gain her trust before she is willing to return it to them, as not even telling her the player is friends with WALL-E convinces her to hand it over as she was told by the player when they were younger to guard it until further notice. Once the player completes regaining EVE's trust, they get the Royal Hourglass, and after recovering the first of three Jewels of Time to help repair the bridge leading to the rest of the isle, they are granted access to the rest of Eternity Isle, including the biomes where Gaston and Rapunzel were stranded in the Glittering Dunes and the Wild Tangle, and continue to fix all the damage wrought on the isle by Jafar, and what has developed back in Dreamlight Valley as a result of recovering the new Royal Tool.
Once the Royal Hourglass is fully repowered with the three Jewels of Time, the player clears away the time anomalies around the palace, freeing Jafar. Unfortunately, this was what he wanted as he was now free to hunt for the legendary treasure known as the Spark of Imagination. He escapes, for now, while the player prepares to deal with him in the future. Trying to prevent Jafar from getting the Spark of Imagination, the player is able to encounter the legendary Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and help him out. When Jafar does return to use the Spark of Imagination, the player successfully escapes being thrown back into a black-and-white version of Eternity Isle where they encounter Mickey from "Steamboat Willie", and manage to trap Jafar in his genie lamp, stopping his plans. Only later do they agree to let Jafar out in return for helping him try to atone for his villainous actions.